Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order_ Dark Tide 02_ Ruin - Michael A. Stackpole [49]
Jacen lowered his macrobinoculars. “The little reptoids are like the troops used against us at Dantooine.”
Ganner leaned forward, peering intently at the cadres. “The people down there have growths like the ones we saw on the slaves at Bimmiel.”
“And like the slaves on Belkadan, but these growths are more regular.”
Corran studied the humans and agreed with both assessments. Coral growths—generally white and smoother than he’d seen before—had come up through the humans’ flesh. The browridges and cheekbones had thickened, presumably to protect the eyes, and little horns curved up through the scalp. Bony buttons capped knuckles, while short, sharp spikes grew from elbows, wrists, and knees. From cadre to cadre these growths varied in size and location, and a couple of cadres even had bony armor plates growing on chest and back, arms and legs. The fourth cadre actually had humans who were encased in the stuff, looking almost like stormtroopers carved of ivory.
Rade sighed. “These are the latest. The Yuuzhan Vong have been here for a month and produced two earlier cadres. They train them, then release them into sections of Pesktda that have been cleared of life. The little reptoids and some of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors are released to hunt them. Not all of the machines have been destroyed here, so we can tap into surveillance holocams and get images of the fighting there. We’ve seen some Yuuzhan Vong casualties and the cadres are getting better, which is why we think they are growing an army here. These are prototypes, and once they find one that works well, I guess they can transform anyone into a soldier.”
Corran ran a hand over his chin, then lowered his macrobinoculars. “This answers the question of why they were content to let some of the farms go untended. They’ve herded the others together at a combine, I assume, picking produce by hand, which is more than enough to keep everyone fed and healthy. They harvest the best of the people, transform them, and work from there.”
“That’s it. My people and I are in contact with some other resistance groups. We can stage a raid and liberate the prisoners, but we can’t stop those who have been transformed, and frankly, we can’t stop the Yuuzhan Vong from reestablishing control.”
The frustration and weariness filling Rade’s comments tightened Corran’s chest. He glanced at the other two Jedi. “Suggestions on what we can do?”
Jacen scratched idly at the flesh below his right eye. “I know we should do something, but our mission here is to scout out Yuuzhan Vong operations. We could attack their experimental station and destroy everything, but we don’t know if that would be a crippling blow or just a minor setback. The repercussions could be horrible, though, if the Yuuzhan Vong decide to punish the locals for something we did.”
Ganner squatted on his haunches. Despite being dressed in a garish combat suit, he managed to keep an air of dignity about himself. “A strike at the experimental facility is a key. We ruin their work and maybe take away some samples so we can have our people working up a way to counter what the Yuuzhan Vong are doing to people here. I mean, we’re here to collect data, and samples would be hard data, and data we need.”
Corran nodded slowly. “I think you’re both on the right track, but hitting the experimental facility isn’t going to do it. If we do that, what will the Vong know?”
Jacen frowned. “That we were here, that we know what they’ve been up to.”
“Right. Now, on Bimmiel we used genetic manipulation to counter the threat of their insects, so we have to assume they know we not only use machines but can manipulate the machinery of life.” Corran pointed back at the cadres. “I think it is safe to assume